'Inhumane Britain solely to blame for thousands of immigrants in France,' blasts senior French politician

French politician Etienne Pinte: He said Britain should welcome thousands of immigrants currently living in France

A senior French politician today launched a blistering attack on Britain’s ‘inhumane and illegal’ immigration policies, blaming them for causing ‘utter misery’ across the Channel.

Etienne Pinte, a former minister and veteran member of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s governing UMP party, says the UK is ‘solely to blame’ for the build-up of thousands of migrants in northern France.

He says almost all of those trying to illegally board ferries to Dover are from former British colonies.

‘So why are the British now rejecting them while at the same time they’re welcoming thousands of citizens from eastern Europe and in particular from Poland?’ says Mr Pinte, MP for Versailles, near Paris.

‘They don’t want to stay in France. They have a common history with the British. Most of them speak English. They often have family members who emigrated to Great Britain at a time when being part of the Commonwealth entitled them to do so.

‘Why are the British forcing us to keep them in utter misery in our territory?

‘Why are the British, in spite of international laws and, in particular, the directives of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, organising charter flights aimed at deporting immigrants towards war-torn countries like Afghanistan.

‘It’s up to Great Britain to find a dignified and humane solution to a problem which solely concerns it.

‘It should, in partnership with the French authorities, bring about concrete and quick solutions to an intolerable situation.’

Mr Pinte, who makes his comments in an open letter to immigration minister Brice Hortefeux, says Britain should, initially at least, accept all the northern France migrants.

It would then have to consider all asylum claims on British soil, before accepting the migrants, or repatriating them at the British taxpayers’ expense to ’safe’ countries.

Mr Pinte decided to speak out following Wednesday night’s murder of an Afghan migrant in a notorious camp close to the ferry port in Calais nicknamed ‘The Jungle’.

The 30-year-old was stabbed to death during a gang fight between some 30 young men battling to board lorries heading for Britain.

The victim had been hoping to start a new life in the UK which, Mr Pinte claims, is viewed by migrants as an ‘Eldorado’.

Claiming that the victim would still be alive if Britain had a fair asylum system, Mr Pinte says: ‘We’ve had enough with the illegal migration policies of the British.

‘We’ve had enough of burying anonymous migrants who have dreamt of Britain as their promised land, just like the Jews dreamt of Jerusalem.’

The Red Cross refugee centre at Sangatte, near Calais, attracted thousands of migrants before it was shut down following an Anglo-French agreement in 2002.

Mr Sarkozy’s government has insisted that no similar welcome centre will ever re-open, making the point to numerous UK officials, including the British ambassador in Paris, Sir Peter Westmacott.

The area of Calais dubbed the 'Jungle': Former French minister Etienne Pinte has blamed Britain for a build-up of immigrants in France

But, referring to the current illegal camps in Calais, Mr Pinte says: ‘And since our Immigration Minister seems to have amicable relations with the British ambassador in Paris, I suggest that he takes him to the Afghan Jungle.

‘They would then be confronted by the inhumane living conditions in our country.

‘Inhumane is actually an understatement given that the migrants have to survive in their tents, in the mud, with minimum hygiene, without being able to deal with the cold and the rain.’

'The people smugglers are still operating and hundreds of migrants are still wandering around our coastlines hoping to reach Great Britain, the Eldorado for thousands of men, women, teenagers and children in transit in our country.

Mr Pinte, first elected to the National Assembly in 1973 is, like Mr Sarkozy, a fierce right-winger .

He is known by fellow backbenchers to have the president’s ear, having supported him in numerous elections.

But French government sources insisted that Mr Pinte’s comments did not reflect current government thinking, saying that immigration minister Mr Hortefeux had an ‘excellent’ relationship with his British counterparts.

UMP sources in Paris, in turn, suggested that Mr Pinte’s words were those of a ‘silent majority’ of politicians who feel France has become a victim of failed British immigration policies.

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'Inhumane Britain solely to blame for thousands of immigrants in France,' blasts senior French politician